A veteran of 21 years along the NBA sidelines, Tom Thibodeau (pronounced Thib-uh-DOE) was named the 18th head coach in franchise history on June 23, 2010 … in his first season as head coach, Thibodeau guided the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals, the team’s first appearance in the Conference Finals since the 1997-98 season … the Bulls also won the Central Division title, en route to the franchise’s sixth 60-win season in team history with a record of 62-20 (.756) … his 62 wins in 2010-11 broke Phil Jackson’s franchise mark (55 in 1989-90) for most wins by a first-year Bulls head coach … he is just one of three coaches (along with Paul Westphal and Bill Russell) in NBA history to win 60 or more games in his first year as a head coach, and his 62 victories tie Westphal for the most wins by a first-year head coach in league history … was named the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year … he was named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month on three occasions (January 12-4, March 13-3 and April 8-0) … he is the first Bulls head coach to win the award three times in a season … Chicago finished the 2010-11 regular season with the best record in the NBA, and also claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference … his 62 wins in his first season with the Bulls marked a 21-game improvement from the team’s record of 41-41 in 2009-10, the third-best single-season turnaround in team history … Chicago went 36-5 (.878) at the United Center, good for the best home record in the NBA … during the 2010-11 season, Chicago was 16-4 following a loss … the Bulls posted an NBA-best record of 27-10 (.730) against teams with a winning record … in his first season with the Bulls, Chicago finished the year ranked first in the NBA in opponent field goal percentage (.430), first in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.326), first in opponent rebounds per game (38.4), first in rebound margin (plus-5.7), second in point differential (plus-7.3), second in opponent points per game (91.3), second in opponent assists per game (19.0), second in the NBA in rebounds per game (44.2) and fifth in blocks per game (5.71) … Thibodeau served as the Associate Head Coach of the Boston Celtics from 2007-10, where the Celtics made two trips to the NBA Finals and won the 2008 NBA Championship … prior to joining the Bulls, his teams won .530 of their games (896-794) in the regular season and .527 of their postseason contests (88-79) … including his year in Chicago, his teams have advanced to the NBA postseason 15 times, including three trips to the NBA Finals (1999, 2008 and 2010) … he implemented and oversaw Boston’s defensive principles during his time on Doc Rivers’ staff … in 2007-08, his first year with the Celtics, Boston held its opponents to 90.3 ppg, an improvement of 8.9 ppg from the previous season, and limited its foes to an NBA-low .419 field goal shooting, down from .468 the year before … during Boston’s 2008 playoff run that culminated in the franchise’s NBA-record 17th world championship, the Celtics held the Los Angeles Lakers to 93.8 ppg and .441 field-goal shooting in the NBA Finals (L.A. averaged 102.4 ppg and shot .468 from the field in the 2008 playoffs) … he has helped his teams rank in the NBA’s top 10 in team defense 17 times, including finishing in the top two in opponent field goal percentage 11 times … his teams have ranked in the top two in opponent scoring seven times … he has also coached for the Minnesota Timberwolves (1989-91), the San Antonio Spurs (1992-94), the Philadelphia 76ers (1994-96), the New York Knicks (1996-2003) and the Houston Rockets (2003-07) … he spent the 1991-92 season as an advance scout with the Seattle SuperSonics … while serving as an assistant coach in the NBA, he worked under Bill Musselman, Jerry Tarkanian, John Lucas, Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney and Doc Rivers … in 2000-01 with New York, the Knicks established a then-NBA record when they held 33 consecutive opponents to under 100 points … he was a four-year letter winner in basketball at Salem State University (Salem, Mass.) … he was team captain his senior season, and a member of back-to-back MASCAC Conference Champion squads in 1980 and 1981 (the first two basketball teams in school history to qualify for the Division III NCAA Tournament) … in 1981, upon completion of his collegiate career, he took his first coaching job as an assistant on the Vikings staff … following three years as an assistant, he was promoted to head coach at Salem State University, a position he held for one season … in 1985, he was hired as an assistant coach at Harvard University, where he spent four seasons on campus, before accepting a spot on Bill Musselman’s coaching staff with the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989 … Thibodeau, 53, was born in New Britain, Conn., on Jan. 17, 1958 … he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in counseling from Salem State University … he was inducted into the New Britain Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.